wegdrücken

Wegdrücken is a German verb formed from weg (away) and drücken (to push). It denotes moving something away from oneself or from a surface by means of a pushing action, and it is used in both literal and figurative contexts.

In literal or physical usage, wegdrücken describes the act of physically pushing an object out of the way or away from a person. Examples include pushing a chair aside to clear a path or pushing a ball away from one's body, such as “Er drückte den Ball weg” or “Er drückte den Stein aus dem Weg.” The construction is separable, so in present tense you often find “Er drückt … weg,” and in perfect tense the past participle is “weggedrückt” (e.g., “Er hat den Ball weggedrückt”).

Figuratively, wegdrücken is used for suppressing or pushing aside internal states, thoughts, or memories. Common forms include “Gefühle wegdrücken” (to push aside or suppress feelings) and “eine Erinnerung wegbügeln/wegdrücken” (to push away a memory). The sense of suppression can range from conscious denial to automatic avoidance and is often close in meaning to verbs like verdrängen or abweisen.

Grammatically, wegdrücken is typically transitive and can take a direct object (the thing being pushed away) or a clause (to push away an idea). It is more informal and colloquial compared with its more neutral synonyms like aus dem Weg räumen (to clear out of the way) or verdrängen in the psychological sense.

See also: drücken, wegschieben, verdrängen, aus dem Weg räumen.